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SEX 

DEVELOPMENT 

or SEX EVOLUTION 

LOVE, BIRTH AND DEVELOPMENT 

By 

BERNARD BERNARD 

Phys. B., M. P. C. (Lond.) 

Editor of “Health and Life” 




CHICAGO: 

HEALTH AND LIFE PUBLICATIONS 
333 South Dearborn Street 



Hfi 5t 


Copyrighted in the United States of America 
and Great Britain 
by Bernard Bernard 


DEC 2 \ - 


PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


© CU690668 

0 I 




BERNARD BERNARD 
Phys. B., M. S. P., M. P. C. (Lond.) 
Editor of “Health and Life” 


shown plainly, by resort to physiological 
and biological argument, the tempta¬ 
tions disappear of their own accord. 

Every person’s greatest fight in life 
is against the animal passions inherited 
from pre-human ancestors. If he suc¬ 
cumbs he passes his life among the 
mediocre ones of the world. If he tri¬ 
umphs he achieves success and becomes 
numbered among the great ones. 

The noblest work we can do, there¬ 
fore, is to point out the pitfalls of life to 
our children and give them a firm scien¬ 
tific basis for their understanding of 
these matters. The average person 
picks up his information from indecent 
sources, so can it be wondered that there 
are so many tragedies? I believe that 
if in every school we could teach the 
simple facts of sex evolution I have 
tried to outline in this book we should 
rapidly become a race of truly great 
men and women. 

Unfortunately today the sex forces 
engage the major portion of mankind’s 
energies. Although sex questions are 
only dealt with in hushed voices, pop¬ 
ular literature, art, and amusement are 
just saturated in a suggestive, subtle 
sexual appeal. Bad practices in youth, 


and overindulgence in adulthood rob 
men and women of a full appreciation 
of the true beauties of life. 

The best way to counteract all this 
is to come honestly to study the subject, 
realize its importance in human life and 
conduct, be familiar with functional 
details, and then let it take its correct 
place and be dominated instead of being 
allowed to dominate. 

Thus, quite naturally, will the sex 
emotions develop, and, later on, in 
matrimony, they will bring exceeding 
joy and happiness. The tragedies in 
marriage are, almost without exception, 
set up by either an exaggeration of the 
sex factor or by its subjection. Women 
who have made themselves believe that 
sex is something wicked can never truly 
appreciate the love of a good man, and 
a man who seeks merely sexual grati¬ 
fication can never love a good woman. 

In order that a man and woman may 
come together and be dissolved in each 
other spiritually and physiologically, 
and reproduce the highest of their qual¬ 
ities, it is essential that the function 
which enables them to do this is recog¬ 
nized in its sacredness, and kept spot¬ 
lessly clean in youth. 


The sexual weaknesses and diseases 
of adulthood always originate in the 
indiscretions of youth. Let there be no 
mistake about it; the purity of each per¬ 
son's body is a sacred trust, not only 
to himself and his future life partner, 
but to the whole of mankind and 
posterity. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 


Preface.5-8 

TheAuthor. 3 


Chapter I. —Introduction ... .11-16 
Chapter II. —The Amceba 

How Amoeba Gives Birth to New 
Life—The Principle of all Re¬ 
production .17-22 

Chapter III. —Volvox 

How Volvox Reproduces—Com¬ 
pared with Man—The Function 

of Sex.23-28 

Chapter IV. —Fresh Water Hy¬ 
dra 

Sex in Hydra—What Is Birth ?— 

Love—Development.29-34 

Chapter V.— The Earthworm 
The Sexual Apparatus—Copula¬ 
tion—The Embryo and Its De¬ 
velopment— Comparative Sex 
— The Origin of Altruism — 

One Set of Ancestors.35-41 

Chapter VI.— The Dogfish 
Evolution of the Brain and Nerv¬ 
ous System—The Food Canal 
—The Urino-Genital System— 
Why Two Sexes?.42-49 









Page 


Chapter VII.— The Frog 
Male Sexual Organs — Female 
Sexual Organs — Comparative 
Copulation—Development . . 50-56 

Chapter VIII. —The Bird 

Organs of Reproduction in the 
Pigeon — Sexual Selection — 
Another Lesson Sex Teaches— 
The New Life.57-64 

Chapter IX. —The Rabbit 
When There Were No Mammals 
—Sex in the Rabbit—(Male) 
(Female) — Reproduction in 
the Rabbit—The Correct Use 
of Functions.65-73 

Chapter X. —Man 

Heredity—Cell Development and 
Reproduction — The Ovum — 
The Spermatozoon—Fertiliza¬ 
tion—The Place of Man in Na¬ 
ture—The Place of Science in 
Illuminating Nature — The 
Value of a Wholesome Under- 


standing of Life — Con¬ 
clusion .74-89 


Chapter XI. —Recapitulation 
The Scientific Explanation of 
Temptation — Why Brilliant 
Careers are Blasted—Be Brave 
in Life’s Greatest Battle. .. .90-95 





CHAPTER I. 


Introduction. 

Every endeavor should be made to 
simplify the understanding of sex and 
all that it means in life. Our children 
must know the facts of their existence 
if they are to fight successfully against 
the animal sex instincts which are 
aroused in them at the time of maturity. 
They must know, too, the source of 
their idealism and the nobleness of the 
right use of sex. They will strive, then, 
to obliterate the bad and will succeed 
because of the domination of beautiful 
and pure thoughts and ideals; for the 
good, when stimulated, always easily 
obliterates the bad. I have had a great 
deal of experience with boys approach¬ 
ing maturity, and I have found that 
once they know that the temptations 
with which they are faced are merely a 
stage in their development which all 
have had to face—the successful mem¬ 
bers of society being those who have 
been successful in combating these 
temptations—and that sex is base only 


12 


Sex Evolution 


when abused, they feel that they have 
the secret which will carry them 
through the battle of life securely. 
Consequently they can fight and win. 

The subject of Sex has been sadly 
neglected by parents and teachers, who 
were themselves brought up on the sys- 
tern of secrecy in regard to all sex mat¬ 
ters, and continued the process when 
dealing with the young people entrusted 
to their care. They lived without real¬ 
izing the deep significance of the subject 
and the important part played by it in 
all our thoughts and acts; they eyed it 
askance; their knowledge of the proc¬ 
esses involved was superficial because 
of the lack of direct teaching, and the 
veil thrown over it made it difficult to 
approach the question openly, sanely 
and purely. 

Children are given instruction in 
many things; they learn to read and 
write and use money correctly; they are 
taught “manners” and Latin and Greek 
and quadratic equations and French 
verbs; but of that which would number 
them among the great ones of the earth 
or fling them into the great abyss of 
mediocrity or hurl them as flotsam upon 
the sea of life, no one has said a word. 


Sex Evolution 


13 


In all other matters use can be made of 
the experience of ancestors and contem¬ 
poraries; in this—the most important 
subject of all, when one false step may 
lead to destruction—blindfolded youth 
has to begin at the beginning of things 
and toil slowly and painfully among the 
pitfalls which threaten to engulf him. 
No danger signals point the way, no 
guide books help the traveler upon his 
lonely journey; but if he stumbles along 
the unfamiliar road, or becomes lost in 
treacherous bogs and morasses, he is 
execrated and blamed for that which he 
could not foresee. 

Fortunately, “the old order changeth, 
yielding place to new.” Today people 
are beginning to realize the great im¬ 
portance of direct instruction regarding 
sex, and that to be “forewarned is to 
be forearmed.” Enlightened parents 
and teachers know that, in order to give 
young people a reliable weapon with 
which to fight their early temptations, 
secrecy in matters of sex must be eradi¬ 
cated. When a child is old enough to ask 
a question, it is old enough to have a 
truthful answer, although the answer 
will necessarily vary according to the 
age and development of the child. Many 


14 


Sex Evolution 


books have of late been published on this 
subject, but I feel that there is a need 
for one on sex evolution, having a dis¬ 
tinct modern scientific bias and a moral 
standpoint, and yet an exposition sim¬ 
ply written and therefore easily under¬ 
stood by the average youth. It is with 
this purpose that I am writing this little 
book. 

I do not wish to trouble my readers 
with scientific names, but if it is neces¬ 
sary to use them, I shall explain them. 

I propose to deal with specimens of 
the different forms of life, from the 
lowest, the most simple organisms, to 
the highest, the most complex. In so 
doing I shall touch briefly upon their 
general and sexual physiology, showing 
the relationship between the various or¬ 
ganisms. 

The subject deeply affects the mean¬ 
ing of Life and its problems. To quote 
Warrington Dawson, the famous novel¬ 
ist and historian: 

“Every human being has fine depths, 
since his soul, however little developed, 
is a link between him and infinity. 
Evolution does not create this link, but 
brings consciousness of it, teaching its 
utility and revealing its splendors.” 


Sex Evolution 


15 


Nothing I could add could express 
more accurately my reasons for dealing 
with sex problems from the evolution¬ 
ary standpoint. It is not that the bio¬ 
logical processes matter so much, but it 
is the fact that they show us—make 
conscious to us—our connection to all 
that is; that we are actually the result 
of all that has been and are responsible 
to all that will be. We owe all we have 
to past generations; this, plus the re¬ 
sults of our own lives, we shall pass on 
to be the foundation of all life to come. 

In this little talk, then, my purpose is 
to show the connection of man with the 
past and his responsibility to the future. 
Man has a control over certain forces of 
nature. He also has, or should have, con¬ 
trol over certain forces within himself. 
Depending upon the development of this 
control is the inheritance of future man¬ 
kind. Every act echoes and re-echoes 
throughout the universe; a rash action 
due to ignorance, will have its evil effect 
not only upon the individual but upon 
posterity as a whole. Ignorance must 
have its terrible consequences—conse¬ 
quences, too, about which our youth is 
not informed. The majority of young 
people who have written to me for help 


16 


Sex Evolution 


because of their condition have stated 
that they were unaware of the harm 
they were doing themselves. Many, it 
grieves me to say, were led into evil 
practices by the example of some older 
person. 

If, by writing this book, I can help 
parents to make themselves more famil¬ 
iar with the scientific facts of life, so 
that they may prepare their children, by 
friendly counsel, to meet the difficulties 
of the world; if young people them¬ 
selves will read it, and, remembering 
what they owe to others, resolve that 
they will leave to posterity a legacy of 
health and strength and purity, then my 
words will not be wasted or my labor 
have been in vain. 


Sex Evolution 


17 


CHAPTER II. 

The Amceba. 

All living organisms are composed of 
cells. A cell is a unit of living sub¬ 
stance containing a nucleus, or a thick¬ 
ening. The simplest living organism is 
composed of merely one cell. The 
Amoeba is such an organism, and you 
shall see how simple it is. 

If we take a little slime from a stag¬ 
nant pool and examine it with a pocket 
lens, we shall in all probability notice a 
little jelly-like substance. Let us put 
this under a microscope, for it is too 
small for complete examination, even 
with a pocket lens. We behold an or¬ 
ganism which has no settled shape; as 
we observe it, one part of its body is 
thrust out on one side, and then on an¬ 
other side. It is continually changing 
its shape and is therefore known as 
Amoeba. 

The thrusting out of various portions 
of itself is its method of enveloping its 
food, which is then digested by the va¬ 
rious acids which help to compose the 
Amoeba. (Fig. 1.) 


18 


Sex Evolution 


By means of staining we are enabled 
to see the full structure of the primitive 
organism. We shall observe a kind of 
bubble which becomes larger after a 
time. Watching it closely we notice 
that this travels toward the side of the 
body and suddenly contracts, and that 
Contractile, 



Fvod Vacuole 


i. dmoeba 

in so doing an oily substance has been 
squeezed out. The latter comprises the 
waste products of the organism and the 
“bubble” is the representative of an ex¬ 
cretory system, and is known as the 
contractile vacuole, because of its power 
of contraction. 


Sex Evolution 


19 


Hozv Amoeba Gives Birth to New Life 

Let us look at the Amoeba still under 
the microscope. We shall see a thick¬ 
ening of the jelly-like mass. This is the 
nucleus. If we watch it closely and pa¬ 
tiently we shall see a constriction de¬ 
velop in the middle of it. This becomes 


NUCLEUS 



&<r.Z Amoeba about 

B become 71VO individuals. 

more and more pronounced, until at last 
it divides into two nuclei. (See Fig. 2). 
Then the outer body of the organism 
begins to develop a constriction which 
increases and finally two new individ¬ 
uals are the result of the one. This is 
the Amoeba's method of reproduction. 


20 


Sex Evolution 


Is the mother dead? No, the parent 
lives again in the two daughters. Here 
is, indeed, an actual expression of the 
immortality of life. Death means Life. 
The two daughters are carrying on the 
life previously expressed by the mother 
Amoeba. We shall see later that the 
same principle applies to all Life, in¬ 
cluding that of the higher animals, even 
of man. 

Sometimes it happens that two 
Amoebae meet and fuse one into the 
other. The two nuclei become one and 
each becomes thoroughly mixed with 
the other. Later this one nucleus will 
divide again and two individuals will 
result. 

The Principle of Reproduction . 

This is the principle of all reproduc¬ 
tion. In all forms of Life the initial 
stage consists of the coming together, 
union or fusion, of two simple cells into 
one, which later divides again into two. 
We shall find when we discuss the 
higher forms of Life, that this immor¬ 
tality is the fundamental fact of Life. 
All future Life depends upon the past, 
and the present, and from this may be 
deduced our responsibility for all future 


Sex Evolution 


21 


mankind. By the abuse of sex the 
whole of Life in the future consequently 
suffers. Not only does the abuser suf¬ 
fer, but his children and his children’s 
children “unto the third and fourth gen¬ 
eration” and later still. As in the sim¬ 
ple Amoeba , so in the highest—human 
—organisms, are the offspring an actual 
part of the parent; in other words, the 
parent is reproduced in new form in his 
children. 

Professor Weismann observed that 
these life products do not die, and this 
led him to establish his well-known 
theory, “The Immortality of the Germ 
Plasm.” The germ plasm composes the 
sexual cells which make the new indi¬ 
viduals. We certainly understand that 
if the life-products are immortal, so is 
Life itself. The life we see around us 
is the result of, and the continuation of, 
all previous existence. It depends upon 
what use we make of sex, how even 
we think of it, what the future of the 
world will be. For not only are we 
as individuals related to our parents, 
but to the whole world—in short, to All. 

We call Amoeba one of the lowest 
organisms, and one of the most primi¬ 
tive. because it is one of the simplest. 


22 


Sex Evolution 


It is called a Protozoon, because it is 
composed of but one cell of protoplasm. 
There are very many forms of one- 
celled animals, but Amoeba serves as a 
good illustration of this form of life. 
All animals go through a stage similar 
to Amoeba; every human being starts 
life as a single cell. 


Sex Evolution 


23 


CHAPTER III. 

Volvox. 

In Amoeba, the one-celled organism, 
we saw that all the functions of Life 
were carried on in the one cell, and by 
the organism generally. We will next 
study Volvox, an organism fairly com¬ 
mon in ponds. 

Volvox is composed merely of a 
group or sphere of simple cells all work¬ 
ing in harmony. If we can imagine a 
single cell with a pair of flagella or 
lashes, then several of these all joined 
up to make a sphere, we have Volvox. 
Volvox lives in fresh water and swims 
about by means of the lashing of its 
flagella. Because of this the zoologists 
group it with the animals. It contains 
in its plasm a substance known as 
chlorophyll, which is a typical constitu¬ 
ent of plants. Because of this the bota¬ 
nists group it with plants. 

Volvox, as I have stated, is simply a 
group of cells which have clubbed to¬ 
gether for the general good of the or- 


24 


Sex Evolution 


ganism. We should thus expect to find 
a “division of labor” between the cells, 
and this is what we do find. Certain cells 
are set apart for nutrition, others for 
reproduction. Substance is passed from 
cell to cell by a process known as os¬ 
mosis. It stands to reason that as soon 
as cells—which have hitherto been indi¬ 
vidual organisms—work together so¬ 
cially in this way, they gain great ad¬ 
vantages over the individuals still work¬ 
ing singly. In the “struggle for exist¬ 
ence” they would emerge triumphant. 
Each part being able to perform a dif¬ 
ferent function, a greater adaptation 
can be secured between the organism 
and its external conditions. This is the 
essence of evolution—continued har¬ 
mony, or adaptation, between organism 
and environment. The organism, if it 
is to live, must develop parts suitable 
to the ever-changing conditions of its 
environment. 

The evidences that this has been the 
case are exhaustive. It was undoubt¬ 
edly by means of socialization that man 
himself was enabled to emerge from the 
lower animals. He grouped himself in 
communities and in this way became far 
too powerful for the gigantic and fero- 


Sex Evolution 


25 


cious beasts which lived side by side 
with him. The development of man is 
now the development of his social rela¬ 
tions. These are continually becoming 
more complex and the time is not far 
distant when the whole of mankind will 
realize the full advantage of complete 
social organization. 

How , Volvox Reproduces . 

Volvox has two methods of repro¬ 
duction. In one we find its reproduction 
interestingly similar to, and yet vastly 
differing from that of Amoeba. Cer¬ 
tain cells of Volvox fall into the center 
of the sphere, where each begins to di¬ 
vide into two cells. These two divide 
and make four; the four divide to make 
eight, and so on; but all these new cells 
remain together to form one organism. 
This continues until the interior of the 
mother Volvox becomes too large for 
her, and finally she bursts, sending into 
the world her new and multiplied form. 
In so doing she dies, yet she lives again 
in her progeny. How similar to Amoeba, 
which lost its own individuality in its 
two daughters! 

In the other form of reproduction 
Volvox gives off special sexual cells. 


26 


Sex Evolution 


They are liberated from one individual 
Volvox and swim off until they meet 
those given off by another Volvox. 
When two cells of different Volvox 
meet, they fuse together in the same way 
as did the two Amoebae. In fact, exactly 
the same process takes place, except that 
in the case of Volvox all the cells re¬ 
main together as one organism, until the 
complete Volvox is produced. 

Comparison With Man. 

In this method of reproduction also 
we find the offspring to be part of the 
parents, as is the case in man, for here 
again are special cells set apart for the 
purpose of reproduction. In fact, man 
goes through a stage embryologically 
similar to that of Volvox. There is a 
stage in the human embryo when it 
merely consists of a sphere of simple 
cells—a stage known to scientists as the 
Blastula. All animals which are com¬ 
posed of many cells have to pass 
through such a stage, which represents 
that passed through by their ancestors 
in the process of evolution. 

The Function of Sex. 

In the first form of reproduction of 
Volvox that, we discussed, we saw that 


Sex Evolution 


27 


the mother Volvox lost her individuality 
in her offspring. We saw also that 
Amoeba , in order to continue her life, 
gave birth to two daughters, thus losing 
her individuality. Man has reproduced 
his species in exactly the same way. It 
is true that his individuality may cease, 
but he, as Man, still lives. 

This in itself should make us realize 
the true responsibility of sex, when 
recognized as the means of man’s im¬ 
mortality. It should bring home to us 
the iniquity of an improper use of a 
function which is for the maintenance 
of the race and not for the pleasure of 
the individual. 

If the real meaning of sex is properly 
appreciated, the mystic inquisitiveness 
which is responsible for much loose 
thinking and unhealthy inquiry through 
wrong sources, will disappear. A phy¬ 
sician who studies certain parts of the 
human anatomy becomes so familiar 
with their correct uses that he can see 
them without being overcome as a lay¬ 
man would be. Similarly, if we approach 
the question of sex in a pure manner, 
if we strip off the conventional covering 
of the whole problem and let light fall 
upon it, sex teaching in schools and col- 


28 


Sex Evolution 


leges will be regarded in as natural and 
rational a way as the teaching of his¬ 
tory or mathematics. 


Sex Evolution 


29 


CHAPTER IV. 

Fresh Water Hydra. 

It is surprising what a number of in¬ 
teresting forms of life can be found in 
a fresh water pool. An ordinary duck- 
pond generally contains specimens 
ranging from the lowly Amoeba to the 
highly organized vertebrate or back¬ 
boned animal, the lizard. We shall find 
it thoroughly worth while to take a 
pocket lens and a few test tubes and 
wend our way to the despised duck pond 
to examine the life to be found therein. 
Those organisms which are too small to 
be seen either with the naked eye or by 
the aid of a pocket lens can be taken 
home in a test tube, to be examined later 
under the microscope. 

Amongst the many beautifully col¬ 
ored organisms which can be discovered 
in a test tube of water taken at random 
from a pond is Hydra, a very small 
fresh water organism. Like Volvo: tr, it 
is not definitely animal or vegetable, but 
has characteristics of both. It is com¬ 
posed of two simple layers of cells, 
which have a layer of protoplasm be- 


30 


Sex Evolution 


tween them. During the first part of 
its life it swims about freely, but when 
it becomes adult it fixes its base to some 
object and thus becomes stationary. 
Situated at the other end of its body is 
its “mouth,” around which there are 
tentacles. Hydra simply bends its body 
about and thus secures its food, with 
the assistance of its tentacles. 

The organization of the different 
cells of Hydra is more harmonious than 
that of Volvox, although individually, 
embryologically, Hydra goes through a 
similar stage to that of Volvox. As 
stated above, it swims about freely in 
early life, simply as a sphere of cells like 
Volvo:x, afterward settling down in a 
definite spot and developing mouth, gut 
and tentacles. 

But a far higher, though similar, 
“division of labor” takes place among 
the different cells of Hydra. The inner 
ones digest the food, and pass on nutri¬ 
ment through the inner layers of proto¬ 
plasm to the other parts of the organ¬ 
ism. This is similar to the method of 
nutrition which is carried on in the hu¬ 
man being, but is necessarily much sim¬ 
pler. Again, Hydra contains cells which 
are distinctly set apart for defense; 


Sex Evolution 


31 


they are stinging cells, which thrust out 
a tiny process when provoked by any 
foreign body. 

Sex in Hydra. 

In Hydra, both the male and the fe¬ 
male elements are produced in the same 
individual. Later on, in “higher” ani¬ 
mals, we shall find a still further “di¬ 
vision of labor,” where each sex is car¬ 
ried by different individuals. But our 
specimen, Hydra, does not belong to so 
high a stage. 

As in Volvox, so in Hydra, there are 
two methods of reproduction. In one 
method some of the outside cells will 
commence to develop until a new Hydra 
is budded off. Leaving the parent, 
this new Hydra swims away to live its 
own independent life. 

In the other form of reproduction in 
Hydra, one of the cells of the outside 
layer begins to enlarge and the sur¬ 
rounding cells nourish and care for it. 
This enlarging cell is the ovum, or 
female egg cell. Above the ovum an¬ 
other swelling, from the outer layer 
of cells, is developed, earlier than the 
ovum itself. Special cells, known as 
interstitial cells in Hydra, divide up into 


32 


Sex Evolution 


many cells and are enclosed in this 
swelling. These are the male sexual 
cells, or sperm cells. Several are pro¬ 
duced and look like very minute tad¬ 
poles, with their comparatively large 
heads and motile tails. When they are 
ripe they rupture the swelling and are 
set free. One finds its way to a female 
cell, or ovum, generally of another Hy¬ 
dra -, and uniting with it, fertilizes it. 

What Is Birth? 

The process known as fertilization 
means that the male sperm comes in con¬ 
tact with the female ovum. The two 
cells fuse together and become one cell. 
This is, as far as we can make out, the 
actual birth of the new individual. This 
cell has been called the stem cell. It con¬ 
tains, potentially, all the characteristics 
of both male and female parents. 

Love. 

Man’s method of carrying on the race 
is exactly the same process as the one 
described above. Thus can be seen the 
importance and responsibility of the 
choice of a mate. The greatest honor a 
woman can bestow upon a man is to 
select him to be the father of her chil- 


Sex Evolution 


33 


dren; the greatest honor a man can be¬ 
stow upon a woman is to select her to 
be the mother of his children. Each is 
willing to be reproduced of the other, so 
that bodily and spiritually they may be 
blended into one. Man and wife are not 
two, but one—he is part of her and she 
of him. This is Love. Can Love have 
a higher object? 

This should make all young men and 
women realize the responsibility of sex, 
the purity of which they must regard as 
the most beautiful thing in life. It 
should lead them to understand that sex 
must be kept pure and clean and un¬ 
tainted, not only for humanity at large, 
but for the time when it will find its 
deepest meaning in the sacredness of 
love between man and wife. 

Development. 

The one stem cell which is the result 
of the union of male and female cells, 
does not remain one cell for long. It 
soon divides into two cells in exactly the 
same way as did Amoeba. Then these 
two become four, these four eight, and 
so on, until the cluster, like Volvox , is 
formed and the young Hydra swims 
merrily away. 


34 


Sex Evolution 


Afterward, however, another de¬ 
velopment takes place. One end of this 
sphere of cells becomes invaginated, 
i.e., pushed in, forming the shape of an 
indiarubber ball which has been pushed 
in. This process forms two layers of 
cells, the gut internally, with a “mouth” 
or common opening, for the substances 
which Hydra cannot digest are also ex¬ 
uded through this “mouth.” 

All animals above Hydra , including 
man himself, go through this stage em- 
bryologically. It is called the Gastrula, 
or Gut, stage. Hydra stops here, but we 
shall see in later chapters how the high¬ 
er animals have passed from this to 
more complex stages. 


Sex Evolution 


35 


CHAPTER V. 

The Earthworm. 

As practically everybody is familiar 
with the earthworm, I think it will be 
our best plan to take it as our next 
specimen for brief examination. It 
makes an exceedingly interesting study 
on account of the very high specializa¬ 
tion of its various parts compared with 
the simple specimens already studied; 
although, in comparison with the higher 
forms of life yet to be studied, it is ex¬ 
tremely simple. 

The earthworm has no heart such as 
we have, but has several expanded blood 
vessels which run across the body, and 
these act as hearts. It has a simple food 
channel from front to rear. The 
“worm” passes earth through this food 
channel as it burrows its way through 
the ground. We have all noticed the 
worm casts, having the appearance of 
earth which has been passed through a 
sausage machine. This earth has all 
been through the worm, nourishment 
having been extracted from it by the 


36 


Sex Evolution 


worm during its passage. This is the 
way the whole surface of the earth is 
broken up and kept so. If it were not 
for this habit of the earthworm, vegeta¬ 
tion would not be possible, for the earth 
would be too hard and compact to allow 
the tender shoots of the plants to push 
their way through. 

The earthworm has no lungs, but its 
blood is aerated by means of its skin. 

The Sex Apparatus. 

The earthworm has both male and 
female sex organs. It is thus hermaph¬ 
rodite (Fig. 3). The body of the worm 
is divided into segments, as we have all 
probably noticed. The thirteenth, in¬ 
ternally, carries a pair of small ovaries, 
for the production of the female ova, 
or egg cells. Just below these are the 
oviducts—funnel-shaped tubes—which 
catch the eggs when ripe and convey 
them down to an opening on the 
fifteenth segment (see Fig. 3). 

Nearer to the mouth end, in the tenth 
and eleventh segments, are the testes, 
for the production of the male sperm 
cells—the cells which form the male fer¬ 
tilizing element for the egg. 


Sex Evolution 


37 


Copulation. 

When the cells engaged in the work 
of reproduction are all matured, two 
worms will lie alongside each other, the 
head of one next to the tail of the other. 
When this happens, the ripe spermato- 



Fig. 3. 

A diagram showing the position of the organs 
of reproduction in the Earthworm. The num¬ 
bers at the sides indicate the segments, com¬ 
mencing from the head. A —Testes {male). 

B —Ovaries {female). C —Sperm ducts. D— 
Nervous System. 

zoa, or male cells, of one worm pass into 
the sperm receptacle of the other. This 
is for the fertilization of the eggs, but 
that does not take place immediately. 























38 


Sex Evolution 


The spermatozoa are stored, and later, 
when the eggs are extruded by the 
worm, the spermatozoa ooze out, and 
find their way to the ova, which then 
form cocoons. These are laid beneath 
a leaf or similar object, and from each 
cocoon is developed an earthworm. 

The Embryo and Its Development. 

All living things which are composed 
of more than one cell pass through all 
the stages beneath their own during 
their embryological development. Thus 
the earthworm passes through the stage 
of the one-celled Amoeba, the sphere of 
cells stage of the Volvox and the double 
bag of cells stage of the Hydra. Simi¬ 
larly we ourselves, embryologically, pass 
through these succeeding stages, and 
through forms higher than these until 
at last we reach the highest—mankind. 

The Amoeba completes its state with 
one cell; the Volvox with a sphere of 
cells; the Hydra with the simple double 
bag of cells; but the earthworm contin¬ 
ues its development. In the simple ani¬ 
mals, uniform similar cells carried on the 
different functions of nutrition and re¬ 
production; in the earthworm parts, or 
cells, have become so specialized that 


Sex Evolution 


39 


definite organs have been developed for 
the different functions. We can no 
longer speak of specialized cells, but we 
must term them specialized organs. In 
the higher animals these develop to a 
still greater complexity. 

Comparative Sex. 

Let us return for a moment to the 
forms of life that we have discussed 
and revise their sexual habits. Some¬ 
times two one-celled Amoebae will fuse 
to form one individual, and later divide 
again to form two. Hydra gives off 
male and female cells, which sometimes 
fertilize from the same individual and 
sometimes from another. There is no 
actual coming together of two indivi¬ 
duals for their reproduction; i.e., there 
is no copulation. 

In the earthworm, however, though 
male and female cells are produced in 
the same individual, two individuals 
come together for the fertilization of 
the ova. Thus in our study of the earth¬ 
worm we have made a great step for¬ 
ward, and are approaching the highest 
organisms. In the worm we see a very 
primitive stage of what, in the highest 


40 


Sex Evolution 


organisms, proves to be that which leads 
to the basis of love. 

The Development of Altruism. 

We have no time at present to inquire 
into the love making of the various in¬ 
sects. This is beautifully recorded in 
Darwin's “Descent of Man,” and I 
would advise you all to read this work. 

It is remarkable that as soon as it be¬ 
comes necessary for two individuals of 
the same species of animals to copulate 
together to reproduce their kind, altru¬ 
ism becomes pronounced. The develop¬ 
ment of higher powers and faculties 
also results. A study of some of the 
greatest works of human art will soon 
convince us of the great part which has 
been played by the sexual factor in the 
development of the best that is in us. 
Inspiration is derived from the strug¬ 
gle for the attainment of that which is 
ideal. 

One Set of Ancestors. 

In this chapter I have taken the 
earthworm as a specimen because we 
are all more or less familiar with it; but 
it is not in the direct line of develop¬ 
ment with the higher animals. It dif- 


Sex Evolution 


41 


fers from these in that its central nerv¬ 
ous system runs along the ventral (un¬ 
derneath) side of its body. 

There are many excellent types of 
animals which could be taken to show 
the direct line of development with the 
higher animals, including man; but the 
earthworm gives a very interesting 
phase in regard to its mode of repro¬ 
duction, and in this respect can be said 
to be the best illustration of the group 
of animals to which it belongs. There 
are better forms existing showing the 
general development of the higher ani¬ 
mals from the lower forms; for some 
groups of animals during their life his¬ 
tory have diverged from the beaten 
track into lines of their own. The earth¬ 
worm is one of these; yet we have every 
evidence to support our statement that 
originally all these groups, including the 
earthworm, had the same common set 
of ancestors. 


42 


Sex Evolution 


CHAPTER VI. 

The Dogfish. 

Our next group for study is the fishes. 
I have chosen the dogfish as the repre¬ 
sentative of this class because it is held 
to be in the main line of development 
with the highest animals, although it is 
a low type of fish. All mammals pass 
through a fish-like stage embryologi- 
cally. Gills, a typical fish-like charac¬ 
teristic, develop in the human embryo 
—other important organs being later on 
developed from them. 

The dogfish is grouped with, and re¬ 
lated to the shark, and to the skate. 
Those who have indulged in the latter 
luxury will know that there are no 
bones, but simply cartilage or gristle, 
which, in higher animals, becomes dis¬ 
placed by bone. 

The dogfish has a properly central¬ 
ized heart, which is, however, composed 
of but two chambers. The used blood 
is pumped to the gills, where, coming 
in contact with the water, it is purified; 
or, to be more accurate, it is oxydized 


Sex Evolution 


43 


by the air dissolved in the water. The 
purified blood then passes to the vari¬ 
ous parts of the body through arteries, 
and back to the heart again by veins. 

Evolution of the Brain and 
Nervous System. 

The dogfish has a highly organized 
brain and nervous system compared 
with that of the lower specimens of life 
which we have discussed. We saw that 
Amoeba, Volvox and Hydra carry on 
their nervous functions simply by means 
of outside parts. In the earthworm, 
certainly, we found that a definite nerv¬ 
ous system has been developed, but of a 
very primitive nature, being merely a 
pair of nerve cords, with a center, or 
ganglion, in each segment. There is the 
definite organ of centralization—brain 
—such as is developed in the dogfish. 
In the latter, the brain is very lowly or¬ 
ganized, compared with that in the high¬ 
est forms of life, and many stages of 
development exist between the brain of 
the dogfish and that of man. In Am- 
phioxus, a fish-like animal placed almost 
at the bottom of the vertebrate scale, a 
thickening at the front end denotes the 
rudimentary brain. 


44 


Sex Evolution 


Students of psychology — and I ex¬ 
pect there will be many who will read 
this book — will do well to study the 
physiological evolutionary development 
of the organs by which expression is 
given to the mind. The development 
arose by the invagination of external 
cells, and the evolution was due to inter¬ 
action with external stimuli. Response 
in external stimuli is the first function 
of living substance; individual develop¬ 
ment of mind can only take place by 
means of such interaction; thus we have 
every reason to believe that its develop¬ 
ment in a group, i. e., its evolution in 
mankind, has been due to the same 
cause. 

The Food Canal. 

The dogfish has a highly complex 
food canal. The mouth leads by a chan¬ 
nel— the oesophagus — or gullet — to 
the stomach, which in turn leads to the 
intestine. Special auxiliary organs such 
as the pancreas, liver, bile and spleen, 
serve to help in the digestion of food, 
and in the purifying of the blood. When 
we remember Amoeba's primitive 
method of carrying on these functions, 
and trace the development of those sim¬ 
ple cells to groups of cells, and then to 


Sex Evolution 45 

organs more and more highly complex, 
we are bound to acknowledge that all 
Life is One. All these stages are but 
periods also in man’s evolution through¬ 
out the ages. 

Urinogenital System. 

The sexual or germ plasm is de¬ 
veloped in the general body cavity, 

a. 

b. 

c. 


Fig. 4. 

Transverse section of a Dogfish. A —Germ 
Plasm. B— Intestine. C— Coelom. 

known as the coelom (see Fig. 4). Each 
sex is carried by a separate individual, 
although there is a fish (Seranus) which 
is hermaphrodite. 

From the fishes to the highest organ¬ 
isms the reproductive organs are always 
intimately connected with the urinary 
ones; thus we speak of the urinogenital 
system. 



46 


Sex Evolution 


In the male dogfish, the testes (the 
organs containing the male sexual ele¬ 
ment) are connected with the kidneys 
(whose function is to excrete waste 
matter and urine) by fine tubules. 



Male Organs of Dogfish. A — Testis. B — Kid¬ 
ney. C —Tube Conveying Urinogenital Prod¬ 
ucts to D — Common Opening. E— Anus. 

From thence the spermatozoa (the male 
sex cells) travel by the same tube which 
carries the urine down to the common 
opening or cloaca (see Fig. 5). Thus 
the fishes have but one opening for sex¬ 
ual and excretory products. 








Sex Evolution 


47 


In the female dogfish the ova are car¬ 
ried from the ovaries independently of 
the kidneys. The ripe ova are received 
in funnels, and are thence carried down 
to the common opening by a duct (see 



Fig. 6. 

Female Organs of Dogfish. A— Ovary. B— 
Funnel to catch Ova. C— Kidney. D —Tube 
conveying Ova to E — Common Opening 
F— Anus. 


Fig. 6). (The above figures are purely 
diagrammatic; they must not be taken 
as exact drawings.) 

Fertilisation. 

The male dogfish has two claspers on 
its underside, for clasping the female in 














48 


Sex Evolution 


copulation for the fertilization of the 
eggs. In the dogfish the eggs are fer¬ 
tilized within the body and they develop 
to an immature stage before being ex¬ 
truded. In most fish the eggs are fer¬ 
tilized outside the body; but these are de¬ 
partures from the main line of sex de¬ 
velopment, although in them the prin¬ 
ciple is the same. 

Why Two Sexes? 

The entire sexual function of the dog¬ 
fish can be very closely compared with 
that of the highest animals, in which a 
single individual carries one sex. In the 
dogfish we also see the similarity which 
exists between the sexes. There is a 
great deal of discussion of the two sexes 
today, and misguided people talk as if 
members of opposite sexes are almost 
different species of beings. Morphologi¬ 
cally, i. e ., in form, or anatomically, 
there is a corresponding organ in each 
sex. They are necessarily different be¬ 
cause they have to carry on a different 
work, but they have both developed in 
the same way, from corresponding parts 
and organs. 

The carrying of one sex by one indi¬ 
vidual is a “division of labor” which is 


Sex Evolution 


49 


necessary for the higher development 
of those groups of organisms in which 
it occurs, just as the socialization of the 
one-celled organisms led to higher, more 
complex organisms, and consequently 
“division of labor” between the parts. 
Specialization invariably follows cen¬ 
tralization. 

Necessarily a woman’s ideas are very 
different from those held by a man. It 
is not illogical to say that a member of 
one sex never fully understands a mem¬ 
ber of the other. Each is but a part of 
one unit; together they harmonize in 
what is termed scientifically—man. Ulti¬ 
mately both have the same ideal — the 
maintenance of the race; they share the 
greatest and noblest ambition — to be¬ 
come parents. 


50 


Sex Evolution 


CHAPTER VII. 

The Frog. 

In the frog we find a most interesting 
link between land and water animals. 
All know that the frog in early life is a 
fish (a tadpole), and not until it is adult 
does it develop air breathing apparatus 
and jump about on the land. It then 
becomes amphibious, living in the water 
or on the land. 

This is a very important development 
in evolution; for all the highest organ¬ 
isms were fishes at one time, and in 
emerging from water into land animals 
had to pass through an amphibian 
stage, such as occurs in the frog. Vari¬ 
ous organs in the frog, especially those 
relating to sex, explain to us most pe¬ 
culiar structures in higher organisms, 
through which we are able to trace the 
development of our own. 

In comparing the adult frog with the 
specimens discussed in the previous 
chapters, we shall notice a much greater 
complexity of the parts. For instance, 
the heart in the dogfish was merely a 


Sex Evolution 


51 


tube doubled on itself to make an “S” 
shape. In the frog this doubling is de¬ 
veloped much farther, giving a heart 
which is divided into three chambers— 
two auricles and one ventricle; although 
the embryo frog’s heart is identical with 
that of the adult dogfish, in the respect 
that it comprises one auricle and one 
ventricle. In the mammals, the mecha¬ 
nism of the heart becomes still more 
complex, and we find two auricles and 
two ventricles. 

Male Sexual Organs. 

In the frog the sexual organs, too, 
show more complexity than those of the 
dogfish, although essentially the princi¬ 
ple is the same. In the male, the testes 
are in the body cavity against the back, 
and are connected by fine tubules to the 
anterior, i. e., front portion of each kid¬ 
ney. The spermatozoa pass through 
these tubules, and down the same tube 
which carries the urinary products to 
the cloaca. They are then stored in a 
seminal vesicle. 

When we come to study the mammals 
we shall find that the testes and the por¬ 
tion of the kidney to which they are at¬ 
tached in embryo life and youth become 


52 


Sex Evolution 


detached, and pass down the body to the 
lower part of the abdomen, and finally 
through the abdominal wall into a scro¬ 
tal sack or bag. The part of the kidney 
which has been detached is known as the 
epididymus, and this maintains its 
tubules from the testes. I will refer to 
this matter when discussing the rabbit, 
so I would like you to remember it. 
As a matter of fact, it simplifies what 
would otherwise prove an insoluble 
enigma: the development of the vas 
deferens (the tube which conveys 
sperm) from the mesonephric duct (the 
duct used to convey urinary products). 

That is to say, the duct which in the 
frog is used for conveying both sexual 
and urinary products, becomes adapted 
in the mammals for conveying sperma¬ 
tozoa only. 

Female Sexual Organs . 

The female sexual organs of the frog 
are also essentially on the same princi¬ 
ple as those of the dogfish. The kid¬ 
neys are situated at the back of the ab¬ 
domen, and have their own urinary 
tubes (ureters) as in the dogfish. 

The ovaries are found in the body 
cavity or coelom, and are very large be- 


Sex Evolution 


53 


cause of the enormous number of ova 
which they produce. It has been esti¬ 
mated that a single frog will lay several 
thousand eggs. When ripe these will 
leave the side of the ovary and occupy 
the body cavity, until they find their 
way to a funnel-shaped opening to a 
much-coiled oviduct. This entrance is 
right in the anterior part of the frog's 
body cavity. In the oviduct the eggs 
become enclosed in an albuminous coat, 
and, when they leave the body, are about 
34 of an inch in diameter, although the 
actual size of the egg itself — without 
the surrounding albumin—is about one- 
fourteenth of an inch in diameter. 

Comparative Copulation. 

Copulation takes place in the frog. If 
we examined a male frog we should find 
a pad arrangement on each of its fore¬ 
limbs ; with this it clasps the female and 
remains thus for several days. As the 
female lays the eggs, which it does in 
the water, the sperm from the male are 
exuded and fertilize the eggs, which de¬ 
velop outside the mother in the water. 

Let us pause here for a moment, in 
order to compare the form of copulation 
in the frog with that in the fishes, and 


54 


Sex Evolution 


also that in the higher land animals. We 
saw that copulation took place in the 
dogfish; the male had claspers and fer¬ 
tilized the egg, which developed to a cer¬ 
tain stage within the female. Such a 
process, however, is not entirely typical 
of fishes—it only applies to the dogfish 
type. Most female fish exude their ova 
into the water, the male later spreading 
the sperm over them, which results in 
fertilization. During this process there 
is no bodily connection between the male 
and female. 

Traveling from the copulation thus 
seen in the fish, to that of the frog, we 
have a direct transition from a lower to 
a higher form of copulation; in higher 
animals the transition is still greater, 
though the principle of fertilization in 
fish is maintained. In the frog the de¬ 
velopment in the method of copulation 
is in the clasping of the female by the 
male during the fertilization of the eggs, 
but this fertilization takes place outside 
the female. In the higher land animals 
copulation is so much more developed 
that the male not only clasps the female 
but fertilization takes place within her 
body. 


Sex Evolution 


55 


Development of the Spawn. 

We have all seen frog's spawn float¬ 
ing on the top of a duck pond in early 
spring. It forms a jelly-like mass of 
colorless substance, which is divided 
into sections, each of the latter having 
for its nucleus a dark speck. This nu¬ 
cleus is a frog's egg, and the surround¬ 
ing jelly is albumin, which is the food 
for the embryo. The egg is exactly the 
same as all other eggs; it is a single cell, 
which, combining with a spermatozoon, 
fuses into a single cell again. Then 
comes the process of division into two 
cells, until a simple cluster, or sphere, 
is formed. This sphere invaginates and 
other developments, such as have been 
observed in the dogfish, continue, until 
a little tadpole, having external gills, is 
the result. This attaches itself to a stick 
or other object in the water, and later 
the external gills are absorbed, and ordi¬ 
nary fish gills, leading to the pharynx, 
are formed. Still later, the tadpole gets 
bigger, hind limbs make their appear¬ 
ance, followed by the fore limbs. The 
tail slowly becomes absorbed, for it 
serves to supply nourishment and to aid 
in the aeration of the blood. In the 


56 


Sex Evolution 


meantime the gills are undergoing 
changes, developing into what will 
eventually become organs for various 
purposes. All this time the tadpole is a 
fish, and fulfills all the characteristics of 
one; but finally, it inquisitively pokes its 
head out of the water and begins to ex¬ 
plore “fresh fields and pastures new.” 
It breathes the air with its lungs, it 
jumps about on its four legs, it catches 
flies with its mouth, and shows itself to 
be a real land animal. 


Sex Evolution 


*57 


CHAPTER VIII. 

The Bird. 

The bird has been a subject for poets 
and writers since civilization began. 
The song of the bird, the ease and grace 
of its flight, and its wonderfully beau¬ 
tiful attire, all serve to inspire the cold¬ 
est of us. A careful study of this chap¬ 
ter should not only show us how and 
why these beauties have developed but 
should lead us to see our own relation 
to the birds, as well as to the rest of 
nature. The gulf that separates us is 
but relatively wide. 

All organisms start life in the same 
way — as a simple cell; but, as in the 
human family itself, each has his al¬ 
lotted path. Each organism develops 
those organs which are most suitable 
for its particular life in the family to 
which it belongs. 

The bird, being a flying animal, has 
organs fitted for this purpose. Very 
powerful and big chest muscles (pector¬ 
als) govern the wings. If examined 
closely, the wings will be found to have 


58 


Sex Evolution 


the bones corresponding to those of the 
fore-limbs of the ordinary mammal 
(cat, dog, ape). 

It has been estimated that it took two 
million years of struggle for birds to de¬ 
velop wings for flying; from this we get 
a rough idea as to the time it must have 
taken to develop other organs necessary 
for the expression of higher powers, 
especially in the case of man. 

We see specialization of a very high 
order in the birds. The heart and cir¬ 
culatory system generally are as com¬ 
plex as in the mammals (the group 
which includes man) ; but there is one 
great difference. In the reptiles 
(snakes) and amphibia (frogs) there 
are two aortic arches (the big blood ves¬ 
sels leading from the heart). These 
arches curve round from the top of the 
heart, and so conduct the blood from the 
heart to the rear of the body. In the 
bird the left arch disappears, leaving 
the right; but in the mammal the right 
arch disappears, leaving the left; this 
becomes the aorta. Thus birds and 
mammals have taken separate paths, 
having started from a common ancestor 
similar to the reptile. 


Sex Evolution 


59 


Organs of Reproduction in 
the Pigeon. 

Let us take for our specimen the ordi¬ 
nary domestic pigeon, with which we are 
all familiar. The organs of reproduc¬ 
tion are here very highly developed, and 
can be compared favorably with those 
of the highest mammal. As the repro- 
ductory organs are always so closely 
connected with the urinary system we 
must refer to the latter for a moment. 
The two kidneys have each three lobes. 
In the male (see Fig. 7) each kidney 
has a tube—the ureter—leading to the 
urinogenital and alimentary opening 
called the cloaca. The testes, the organs 
in which the life-producing spermatozoa 
are formed, lie underneath and anterior 
to the kidneys. (The diagrams are 
sketched from the specimen when it is 
laid open with its underneath side up¬ 
ward. That is why in Fig. 7 the testes 
appear above the kidneys. If you imag¬ 
ine this turned into the normal posi¬ 
tion of the live pigeon, you will have a 
correct idea of the relative positions of 
the organs.) Each testes has a tube by 
which the spermatozoa are carried down 
to the cloaca. 


60 


Sex Evolution 


In the female pigeon (Fig. 8*) there 
is really but one ovary, the left; the right 
one is almost atrophied through lack of 
use. The life-producing ova are formed 



Fig. 7 . 

Male U rino genital Organs of Common 
Pigeon. The outside superior lobes are the 
Testes, with tubes leading to the Cloaca. The 
inside elongated lobes are the kidneys, also 
with tubes leading to the exterior. 

in the left ovary. A tube, funnel- 
shaped at the beginning, leads down to 
the cloaca. It is in this tube, the 




Sex Evolution 


61 


oviduct, that a fertilizing spermato¬ 
zoon from the male finds its way to 
an ovum, or egg. There are various 
glands investing the oviduct, which give 



Female Urinogenital Organs of Common 
Pigeon. A— Ovary. B —Tube carrying ova to 
exterior. C— Kidney. D— Ureter. E— Cloaca. 
F —Remains of atrophied right ovary and 
oviduct. 


off secretions in the form of albumin 
(the white) and calcin (for the shell). 

Sexual Selection. 

How many of us have not walked 
along a country lane on a spring morn- 







62 


Sex Evolution 


ing and felt the glory and oneness of 
nature? The birds sing their sweetest 
songs, their plumage is of the richest; 
they circle around us, and halt in their 
flight to hop in front of us, as if to call 
our attention to their treasures, of which' 
they are so proud. There is reason for all 
this display of form, and grace, and 
color and beauty. The female bird 
mates with the most handsome, the most 
graceful, the sweetest singing bird she 
can find. The great Charles Darwin 
laid much stress on the significance of 
this “sexual selection” of animals in the 
evolution of species. We all know that 
pigeon fanciers mate together those 
pigeons possessing certain characteris¬ 
tics which they desire to perpetuate. By 
so doing they have bred ever so many 
new kinds of pigeons. All domestic 
pigeons are the descendants of the Com¬ 
mon Rock Pigeon—a very plain bird; 
but by this special “selection” all other 
forms have been developed. Thus we 
have every reason to believe that the 
choice of a partner, or “sexual selection” 
may have had a great influence on the 
development of life, as exhibited in all 
living forms. Those animals which are 
weakly, or show no attractive or useful 


Sex Evolution 


63 


signs, ultimately die out, while those 
possessing good points are chosen, and 
perpetuate their species in the offspring 
to which the character of the parents is 
handed down. 

Sex Teaches Another Lesson. 

Sex, then, has also another great cos¬ 
mic significance. In itself it has pro¬ 
vided a method whereby the unfit may 
be exterminated, and the fit left to carry 
on the race. Over and above this, there 
is a natural law which applies particu¬ 
larly to human beings; for those indi¬ 
viduals who are degenerate—those who 
do not reach the general standard of de¬ 
velopment of their species, but remain 
at previous stages in some way—become 
sterile; they are not given the power to 
perpetuate their retrogression in off¬ 
spring. The reason for this can easily 
be understood if we but grasp the ele¬ 
mentary facts of life. An animal, as 
we have found, is an organized unit of 
many parts; the disturbance of any of 
these will have a correlative influence 
on the whole organism. The wrong use 
of sex is perhaps attended with more 
disastrous results than is the abuse of 
any other part of the body. 


64 


Sex Evolution 


It causes immediate damage to the in¬ 
dividual himself, in many cases leading 
to sterility, with its attendant indigni¬ 
ties and pains; but the effects on his off¬ 
spring, should he have any, are still 
more serious, involving the degeneracy 
of the race. It will be shown later on, 
however, how this takes place. 

Properly understood and used, sex is 
the most important and significant func¬ 
tion which makes for the development 
of higher life; abused, it not only pre¬ 
vents development but embraces retro¬ 
gression, leading to the loss of life itself. 

The New Life. 

In the glorious springtime the male 
and female birds mate. The sperma¬ 
tozoa of the male are introduced in 
copulation to the oviduct of the female, 
where spermatozoa find their way to 
the ova. The embryological stages of 
the forms of life, discussed in the earlier 
chapters, are all recapitulated within the 
shell, until at last, exercising its muscles, 
the pigeon breaks forth into the world. 


Sex Evolution 


65 


CHAPTER IX. 

The Rabbit. 

Let us now make a short study of the 
group of animals known as mammals. 
Mammals are distinguished from other 
orders by having glands (mammae) 
which provide nutriment for their 
young; any animal having this charac¬ 
teristic being classed with the mam¬ 
mals. 

The rabbit may be taken as a fair 
specimen of this most important and 
highest order of animals. The observa¬ 
tions we make concerning it, however, 
will apply generally to all other mam¬ 
mals. 

Mammals are vastly superior to the 
other species of which we have made a 
study, in that they bring forth their 
young in a living, though somewhat im¬ 
perfect state. These offspring have ex¬ 
tremely complex and delicate organs, 
because of their immaturity, so that 
nearly all mammals have to protect and 
nurse their young. The period during 
which this is necessary is regulated by 
the complexity of the organism; in man, 


66 


Sex Evolution 


the most highly developed mammal, the 
period is longest. 

When There Were No Mammals. 

There was a period in the earth’s de¬ 
velopment when there were no mam¬ 
mals; when the highest form of animal 
was one similar to the reptiles (snakes 
and lizards). They laid eggs which 
they left to hatch in the sun; but there 
came a time when the temperature was 
lowered so considerably that only those 
organisms which looked after their eggs 
could reproduce their kind. Those orders 
that did not do this died out in that 
period, as their eggs could not hatch to 
produce offspring. Some of the animals 
went a step farther; they not only looked 
after their eggs but the female de¬ 
veloped organs which made for the pro¬ 
tection and nourishment of the embryo 
within her body. This was the begin¬ 
ning of the group called mammals. 

When we think over these facts we 
find prominent signs of a developing al¬ 
truism—the highest form of which is 
the care of parents for their offspring. 
Being a real father or a mother is much 
more than the mere begetting of a child. 
Proper care, education in the vital ques- 


Sex Evolution 


67 


tions affecting life, assistance in difficul¬ 
ties and sympathy, all have their place 
in parenthood, and we can trace their 
origin to the time when animals began 
to care for their young. 

Sex in the Rabbit. 

The kidneys in both sexes are situa¬ 
ted on the back wall of the abdominal 
body cavity; they have each a tube 
(ureter) which leads to the bladder. 

In the adult male the two testes (Fig. 
9) containing the life-producing cells 
sink low into a scrotal sac, but in the 
young are still in the body cavity. A 
tube from each of the testes approaches 
the bladder, where they are joined on 
to a bigger tube called the Urinogenital 
duct, because it carries to the exterior 
the urinary and genital products. 

At the end of the testis is a gland 
known as the epididymis, which has 
tubules leading from the testes, through 
which the spermatozoa are passed up to 
the vas deferens (the duct which car¬ 
ries the spermatozoa to the urinogenital 
opening). 

This may seem curious to those who 
have made no comparative study of 
anatomy; but this epididymis is simply 


68 


Sex Evolution 


the remains of a part of what was the 
kidney in the ancestors of the mammals, 
corresponding to what we saw takes 
place in the frog, where the testis was 



Male ’ Urinogenital Organs of a Mammal. 1— 
Testis. 2 —Duct carrying Sperm from Testis. 
3 —Urino genital Tube. 4 — Rectum. 5— Blad¬ 
der. 6, 7, 8, 9— Glands. 10 —Tube coming 
from kidney. 


connected to the kidney by five tubules 
(see Chapter VII.). 

We remember that in the frog there 
were a number of tubules which took 










Sex Evolution 


69 


the sperm through the kidneys and 
down a duct into the cloaca. In its em¬ 
bryo life the mammal goes through a 
similar stage, but as it develops into a 



Female Urinogenital Organs of a Mammal. 

1— Ovary. 2—Duct carrying ova from ovary. 

3— Uterus, in which ova are fertilized. 4— 
Vagina. 5 —Urinogenital Tube. 6— Rectum. 

7— Bladder. 8 —Tube leading from kidney 
to bladder. 

mammal, the testes begin to descend un¬ 
til they reach the lower end of the abdo¬ 
men, and finally break through into a 
scrotal sac. During this descension 











70 


Sex Evolution 


they take with them that part of the 
kidneys to which they have been at¬ 
tached anatomically and physiologi¬ 
cally. Even in man this development 
persists. This teaches us that animals 
have used such parts or organs as they 
possess to develop more complex or¬ 
gans and functions in their evolution. 
Still more, it traces for us the develop¬ 
ment of the higher forms from the 
lower, demonstrating the common origin 
of all life, and the unity of all things. 

For the completion of the sexual 
function, a series of glands produce se¬ 
cretions as a medium for the dilution 
of the sperm—and the necessary mus¬ 
cular force to expel these secretions. 

In the adult female (Fig. 10) there 
are organs which correspond exactly 
with those of the male, excepting, of 
course, that they have different func¬ 
tions, and consequently differ in form. 
As we can trace the development of the 
organs of the mammal — even to the 
small secretory glands — to those of a 
less complex ancestor, so can we find a 
parallel development of male and female 
in the same source. 

The ovaries, producing the female 
ovum, or egg cell, correspond to the 


Sex Evolution 


71 


testes in the male, but remain through¬ 
out life attached to the wall at the back 
of the abdomen behind the kidneys. A 
tube (oviduct) leads from each ovary, 
and becomes larger and thicker as it 
progresses. At the largest part it be¬ 
comes the uterus — wherein the young 
develop. 

There is — in the rabbit — a uterus 
formed from the tube leading from each 
of the two ovaries—so there are two 
uteri. This does not apply to man, as 
we shall see later, for here the two uteri 
are fused together into one uterus, 
which becomes pear-shaped in charac¬ 
ter. In the rabbit the two uteri open 
into a bigger tube — the vagina. The 
latter is homologous with, i. e., it de¬ 
velops in the same way and forms the 
same corresponding organ, in the male, 
the uterus masculinus: the vagina 
leads downward and meets the urino- 
genital canal which finally leads to the 
urinogenital aperture. 

Reproduction in the Rabbit . 

When an ovum is ripe it is released 
from the ovary and passes down to the 
oviduct, where, if copulation has taken 
place, it meets a sperm cell from the 
male. Reaching the uterus, having 


72 


Sex Evolution 


fused and become one cell, this, like 
the primitive Amoeba, divides into two. 
Then these two cells divide into four, 
and so on, until, like Volvox, our rabbit 
embryo becomes a social cluster of cells. 
Then, like Hydra, it becomes indented 
at one end, having an interior, or gut, 
with but one opening. As in the earth¬ 
worm, however, parts become special¬ 
ized, and gills develop, as seen in the 
dogfish. From these gills are developed 
organs of much greater complexity, sim¬ 
ilar to those of the frog and the pigeon, 
for, like them, it finally intends to 
breathe air. Thus a gradual embryo- 
logical growth results in the birth of a 
perfect organism, having the character¬ 
istics of its own species. 

In the rabbit, as in the lower organ¬ 
isms, a cell from the male (an actual part 
of the organism) meets a cell from the 
female. This happens in the female 
genital duct of the rabbit, where, de¬ 
scending to the uterus, development 
takes place by means of an intercircu¬ 
lation of blood between the mother and 
its offspring. 

The young is attached from the 
navel, or pit of its stomach, to what is 
known as the placenta, a large network 


Sex Evolution 


73 


of capillaries communicating with the 
blood system of the mother, by a cord— 
the umbilical cord or navel string. 
When born the young passes down the 
vagina out into the world, and the navel 
cord has to be broken. 

The Correct Use of Functions. 

The mammal is an exceedingly deli¬ 
cate organism, and tampering with vital 
parts may blast the whole of its future 
life. The life cells contain, potentially, 
those characters which go to make up 
the perfect being, and we know, defi¬ 
nitely, that the habits of the individual 
affect these cells, for better or for worse. 

There is an intimate connection be¬ 
tween the germ plasm (the sexual life- 
cells) and our external surroundings, 
and with the general individual charac¬ 
teristics various statistics show, and ex¬ 
periments have been made to prove, that 
if the whole organism is not kept in 
clean, healthy surroundings, a distinct 
deteriorative effect is noted in the off¬ 
spring. Moreover, an ill-considered 
use of the sexual functions may produce 
malformations and weaknesses in the 
offspring, which may result in disease 
or premature death. 


74 


Sex Evolution 


CHAPTER X. 

Man. 

In the last chapter we examined a 
specimen of one of the lowest type of 
mammal—the rabbit. It differs but lit¬ 
tle from the highest — man. Embryo- 
logically man goes through all the forms 
and stages of the organisms which we 
have discussed in the previous chapters. 
He recapitulates the stage of the one- 
celled Amoeba in the egg cell; the 
spheric stage of Volvox in the blastula; 
the gastral stage of Hydra in the gas- 
trula; the fish-like form with gills in 
the further advanced foetus. He is 
actually one with all other living organ¬ 
isms, and, in fact, with the whole of the 
universe. 

The development of man has been far 
more complex than that of any other 
animal. This is chiefly in regard to that 
organ for the generalization of indivi¬ 
dual sensory impressions—the brain. 

The urinogenital organs and their 
functions are chiefly characterized by 
the fact that the two uteri in the female 


Sex Evolution 


75 


have become one uterus. In the unde¬ 
veloped human being the two uteri still 
remain. It is not until maternity is 
reached that the characteristic pear- 
shaped uterus comes into existence. A 
division of the uterus occurs in some 
adult females, but this is, of course, due 
to retarded development; in other words, 
it is an atavism. 

Knowing the sexual functions of 
other animals, you will understand those 
of man, for the previous chapters show 
us that the same principle underlies all, 
and man is no exception. 

Sex is the most useful and most im¬ 
portant of all the functions of the 
human race, if used properly. If abused, 
it is the greatest curse. 

The most useful, necessary and noble 
things create most havoc when used im¬ 
properly. Thus we must concentrate 
upon the noblest uses of sex, and it is 
in order that we may do so that we are 
learning the correct function of sex. 
Sex is the means of our continuation as 
a race; it has assisted in the develop¬ 
ment of the highest gifts and charac¬ 
ters; to those who control it is given 
the means to becoming successful mem¬ 
bers of society; but those who, through 


76 


Sex Evolution 


% 


i 





vii'iuuri'iu/L 


Fig. 12. 



Sex Evolution 


77 


EXPLANATION OF FIGURE 12. 

Figure 12 illustrates the human female organs. 
Each month an Ovum from the Ovary is re¬ 
leased. This finds its way to the Fallopian 
Tube and travels thence to the Uterus. If it is 
not fertilized it will pass down into the Vagina 
and then out of the body. If the male has 
placed Spermatozoa in the Vagina, one Sper¬ 
matozoon will find its way to the Ovum and 
coalesce with it. This fertilized Ovum will then 
fasten itself to the wall of the Uterus, and 
the development of the embryo will take place 
there. First of all the cell will resemble the 
protozoon Amoeba; then it will divide into 
two, and these two will become four until the 
embryo becomes a cluster of cells, the equiv¬ 
alent of Volvox. One side of this cluster will 
sink in and it will take a similar form. to 
Hydra. Thus it will progress in complexity, 
repeating the stages that human ancestors 
passed in their evolution through > the fishes, 
amphibians and mammals, until nine months 
from the date of fertilization the human baby 
descends out of the uterus through the vagina 
into this great cold world of ours. 


78 


Sex Evolution 


ignorance or wilfulness, lose control of 
sex, drift on to the destruction of those 
things which make for a beautiful, use¬ 
ful and happy life. 

Sex is not a possession of the indivi¬ 
dual himself; it belongs to man as a 
whole, and no individual has a right to 
seek self-gratification at the expense, 
not only of his own life but of the en¬ 
tire human race. 

Heredity. 

We have seen that all organisms re¬ 
capitulate, embryologically, the stages 
lived by lower species; thus each indi¬ 
vidual of an order is the result of all its 
ancestors. The influence of this ances¬ 
try is found, not only in the embryo but 
in the developed adult. This possession, 
individually, of something which ances¬ 
tors had, implies a new law — that of 
heredity. Heredity is the reproduction 
in offspring of characteristics developed 
by ancestors; a continuation of the 
characters of the parents. We all know 
that rabbits produce rabbits and pigeons 
produce pigeons; this is because of the 
law of heredity. In people, bad and 
good characteristics may be inherited, 
as also the predisposition to certain 


Sex Evolution 


79 


diseases; it is therefore necessary for 
us to endeavor to eradicate our bad 
points, so that only strong minds and 
healthy bodies and good morals are 
passed on to future generations. 

Given favorable conditions, every 
character will appear at some time or 
other in offspring; but this does not 
happen under unfavorable conditions. 

The conditions have been called en¬ 
vironment; and it is the inter-relation of 
heredity and environment that decides 
which characteristics of the parents 
shall develop in the child. For instance, 
if a disease is “in the family,” i. e., if a 
child inherits a strong predisposition to 
a disease, the chances for the disease to 
attack the child lie in the favorability of 
environment. If conditions are unhy¬ 
gienic the disease will most certainly de¬ 
velop; if, on the other hand, the child’s 
surroundings are clean and healthy, the 
chances are heavily against the develop¬ 
ment of the disease. 

We have already seen that the first 
law of living substance is response to 
an external stimulus; without the abil¬ 
ity to respond to their external environ¬ 
ment, organisms would not be able to 
adapt themselves to circumstances and 


80 


Sex Evolution 


there would be no development possible. 
Thus heredity and environment are of 
equal importance in development of 
life. 

Man must not think that heredity 
means inevitable strength or weakness; 
in the struggle for development he has 
desire, will and strength of character on 
his side. He must desire the right—the 
progress of humanity and of knowledge; 
his will must enable him to carry out his 
desires, and so his character will de¬ 
velop. It has been through desiring 
and willing and struggling that man 
has triumphed over the animals; in the 
same way an individual triumphs over 
bodily weaknesses and passions, leaving 
to his descendants greater strength of 
will and power to enable them to con¬ 
tinue to future still higher stages in evo¬ 
lution. 

Cell Development and 
Reproduction. 

We have noticed that the principle of 
all reproduction is the fusion of male 
and female cells into one cell. Making 
man our specimen, let us briefly examine 
these cells, which are devoted to repro¬ 
ductive purposes. 


Sex Evolution 


81 





No. 1. 


No. 3. 


No. 5. 



No. 2. 



Fig. 11. Cell Development. 

No. I has the Chromatin forming a coil. In 
No. 2 this coil has broken up into a number of 
Chromosomes which arrange themselves on 
spindles which stretch from centrosome to cen- 
trosome. Nos. 3, 4 and 5 show further progres¬ 
sive stages, and No. 6 shows the cell about to 
divide into two cells. 



82 


Sex Evolution 


In the female ovary we notice that 
one of the cells enlarges and the others 
surround and nourish it; let us see what 
takes place in the central cell. 

In the interior there is a thickening 
called a nucleus. If we stain the cell 
with some coloring matter, we shall ob¬ 
serve upon examination a number of 
pieces of a substance known as chro¬ 
matin. 

By means of experiments it has been 
found that these chromatin elements 
are the fundamentals from which the 
future off spring develops; that they con¬ 
tain, potentially, the characters which 
go to make up the future individual. 
These pieces of chromatin next form 
themselves into a kind of long thread 
(see Fig. 11). 

Then the thread breaks up into a 
definite number of chromosomes. The 
number of chromosomes is always 
fixed; in man, the number is 32; in 
other animals it is less; in plants still 
less. In some animals the number varies 
with the sex, the female having one 
chromosome more than the male. 

A small body will be noticed on the 
outer margin of the nucleus shown in 
Fig. 11. This is called the centrosome, 


Sex Evolution 


83 


and divides into two, each resulting 
centrosome traveling to an opposite 
pole. Fine spindles will radiate from 
each, and on these the chromosomes 
will arrange themselves. 

A chromosome, examined under the 
very high power of a microscope, will 
be found to be composed of a number 
of tiny separate particles. 

In the female egg cell or ovum which 
we are discussing, half of these chromo¬ 
somes will be extruded and will form 
what is called the first polar body. The 
remaining chromosomes split down the 
center, doubling their number; half of 
these are again extruded, forming a 
second polar body. It is doubtful 
whether these polar bodies play any 
part at all in the process of reproduc¬ 
tion. When the female cell has reached 
this stage it is ready for fertilization; 
it is ripe. We must remember that the 
number of chromosomes is only half the 
original full number; the other half is 
to be obtained from the male life cell. 
The actual size of the human ovum is 
1/250 of an inch in diameter, and gener¬ 
ally only one is developed at a time. 


84 


Sex Evolution 


The Spermatozoon. 

The male sexual cell, or spermatozoon, 
is developed from the germ plasm in 
the testes, in much the same way as the 
ovum in the ovary, except that very 
many, instead of one, develop. The 
chromosome development is the same 
but, instead of half of the chromosomes 
being expelled, they arrange themselves 
at the end of the spindles (No. 5). A 
constriction is formed in the middle of 
the cell, until finally two cells are 
formed. Each of these two cells again 
divides into two and all four are pre¬ 
served. Half of the number of chro¬ 
mosomes occur in each spermatozoon. 
A plasmous tail develops, and the re¬ 
sulting spermatozoon has a tadpole ap¬ 
pearance. 

Fertilization. 

The spermatozoa are now ready to 
fertilize the ovum. They are trans¬ 
ferred from the male to the female geni¬ 
tal duct from whence one will find its 
way to the ovum and fertilize it. 

The spermatozoon is much smaller 
than the ovum. The nucleus of the lat¬ 
ter is surrounded by a mass of plasm, 
while that of the spermatozoon has lit- 


Sex Evolution 


85 


tie surrounding plasm. It pierces the 
ovum, and its plasmous tail is left out¬ 
side. Then the nucleus of the sperma¬ 
tozoon finds its way to the nucleus of 
the ovum, and a fusion of the chromo¬ 
somes ensues, the two cells actually be¬ 
coming one cell. This, the stem cell— 
the actual beginning of the new indivi¬ 
dual—follows the ordinary chromosome 
development as outlined above, until 
finally it divides into two daughter cells, 
as in No. 6. The story of the resulting- 
development throughout the stages of 
embryo life to the full life, we are fami¬ 
liar with already. 

The Place of Man in Nature. 

We have been able to discuss but very 
few specimens of other species of organ¬ 
isms, showing their relation to man. 
They have been taken from groups very 
widely separated; but were we to con¬ 
sider the subject in detail, amply dealing 
with all groups of organisms as they 
present themselves to us, we should be 
able to trace — even from living speci¬ 
mens—an almost unbroken chain show¬ 
ing the gradual growth—from simplic¬ 
ity to complexity — of the organs by 
which man continues his life. 


86 


Sex Evolution 


Our studies into the comparative 
sciences of morphology and embryology 
have shown us that man is actually re¬ 
lated to the lower animals; that he has 
developed in the same way and by the 
same means, only more so, in fact he 
has reached the highest stage of devel¬ 
opment that is at present possible to any 
organism. We have, therefore, made a 
comparison between man and specimens 
of the lower animals, showing not only 
the differences but the similarities be¬ 
tween them. 

Man is nature's greatest product; 
greatest in being the most complex. He 
has developed to a stage where he can 
control some of her forces. It has taken 
nature hundreds of millions of years to 
produce this human organism, which 
possesses her most wonderful faculties. 

The Place of Science in Illuminating 
Nature. 

In the short talks we have had to¬ 
gether we have laid a foundation of 
thought which should help us in our 
study of all other sciences. We should 
now see the meaning underlying all de¬ 
velopment and we should not be con¬ 
tent to gorge ourselves with material 


Sex Evolution 


87 


facts, but endeavor to look for causes 
and results, and so study intelligently 
and with interest. If we have all grasped 
the theme underlying the observations 
and deductions we have made in this 
book, we should be able to place all our 
studies—especially those of the sciences 
— in their relative positions to each 
other and to the universe. Zoology, 
geology, chemistry, physics, all sciences 
harmonize in teaching that the universe 
is a unity, and that all changes and de¬ 
velopments in it are merely correlative. 
Modern scientific research and modern 
knowledge show us that the whole uni¬ 
verse is governed by one set of laws, 
which act and interact. 

“Thou can’st not stir a flower 
without troubling a star.” 

Science illumines for us the fact that 
all that is has developed from all that 
has been, and that the present and past 
merge continually into the future. 

The Value of a Wholesome 
Understanding of Life. 

I cannot close this chapter without 
emphasizing the absolute necessity for 
a clean and wholesome understanding 


88 


Sex Evolution 


of sex problems, which, I feel confident, 
makes for a clean and wholesome life. 
The damage done to the individual, 
mostly through ignorance of matters of 
sex, is very, very serious, but the results 
of this ignorance on future mankind can 
only be grasped by those who can fully 
appreciate the scientific basis of repro¬ 
duction. 

Actions are preceded by thoughts; 
therefore do not let your thoughts dwell 
upon aspects of those subjects which 
will ruin your moral and physical self. 
Turn your thoughts to higher things; 
think of the glorious culture of your 
body, and do those things which make 
for health. Think yourself a man, and 
health, strength and prosperity will 
mark your way. Think purely, talk 
purely, live purely; always keep your 
energies engaged; when you are playing 
cricket or football, when you are doing 
physical exercises; when your mind is 
struggling with some great problem, 
there is no chance for impure thought. 
If you are tempted to think impurely— 
and this generally happens when you 
are idle and alone—go and talk to other 
people at once, or find some strenuous 
work to do. Don’t let your bad thought 


Sex Evolution 


89 


make headway, and each victory will 
make the next battle easier, until finally 
you will have conquered yourself and 
can set out with pure mind and a healthy 
body to gather the great successes in 
life that will follow. 


90 


Sex Evolution 


CHAPTER XI. 

The Law of Recapitulation. 

The law of recapitulation has now 
been definitely established and forms the 
basis on which the sciences of embry¬ 
ology and psychology are founded. Re¬ 
capitulation is the repeated develop¬ 
ment in the individual of the stages 
traveled through in the evolution of the 
race. 

Embryologically, as we have seen, the 
human being repeats all the stages of 
his ancestors. We saw how every in¬ 
dividual started life as a simple cell, 
which is so similar to Amoeba. We 
saw how this simple cell by a process of 
division formed a cluster of cells similar 
to Volvox, and in precisely the same 
way. We saw how an indentation was 
made and the embryo assumed a simi¬ 
lar condition to Hydra. Later, how he 
became fish-like and developed gills, 
which formed the basis of further, more 
complex, developments. After travers¬ 
ing these and more advanced stages he 
is finally born a human being. All this 
is biological recapitulation. It is a rapid 


Sex Evolution 


91 


repetition of developments that took 
millions of years in our ancestors. 
These few words will, I think, suffice to 
show the meaning of recapitulation. 

But recapitulation does not end with 
physical repetition in the embryo. After 
birth a child recapitulates physically, 
and more especially mentally. The 
beast-like promptings, in fact, remain 
throughout life, and life is a perpetual 
struggle for control of passions and de¬ 
sires that have been inherited by us 
from our ancestors of millions of years 
ago. It is the control of these that 
makes for human advance; it is lack of 
control that ends in disaster and rever¬ 
sion. Temptation, you see, has its 
scientific explanation and basis, and, 
knowing its origin, we shall be better 
able to counteract it. 

Why is there implanted in the young 
that great and undesired tendency to an 
abuse of self? Looked at in the light 
of modern science the answer is simple. 
It is because he is recapitulating a stage 
in the evolutionary development of man. 
Just bear this in mind. As our ances¬ 
tors struggled above this stage of de¬ 
velopment, as they had the will so to 
struggle, so have we, and so must we 


92 


Sex Evolution 


struggle above it. For he who suc¬ 
cumbs retards his development; he 
never matures to express his full human 
attributes. 

Just think for a moment of the sexual 
processes of the fish and the frog — 
stages fish-like and amphibian through 
which undoubtedly everyone travels — 
and you will see what I mean. 

Professor Baldwin has shown us how 
the mentality of each individual de¬ 
velops along the same lines as those 
taken in the evolution of man. We 
need not wonder at the fact of tempta¬ 
tion at the age of puberty. But know¬ 
ing its origin and knowing its part in 
the development of man, we can tri¬ 
umph over it. The key to success, the 
key to purity, the key to the attainment 
of full maturity lies in knowing that 
this bridge needs fearless walking over 
—and must be walked over. Once you 
are past this stage you are on the high 
road to achievement. Hesitate and you 
are hurled into the abyss of human 
mediocrity. 

How many a young fellow might 
have steered his course safely had he 
but known these facts! He feels the 
inward desire, and thinks himself weak 


Sex Evolution 


93 


and wicked. If he but knew that this 
stage must inevitably be fought through 
by every human being as the crawling 
stage had to be fought through in early 
childhood, he would win. 

I want to impress one more point 
which I feel to be perhaps the most im¬ 
portant of all which we have been called 
upon to consider together. 

In discussions of the sexual problem, 
the majority of people are concerned 
only with the physical harm done by 
abuse, and more especially by promiscu¬ 
ous intercourse. 

Let me not harass your minds with 
thoughts of unhappy physical conse¬ 
quences of sexual abuse. 

We have seen that Man is at the 
summit of the world’s evolution. He 
has harnessed many of the great forces 
of nature. He has produced great 
works of art. He has changed the face 
of the earth, and he has changed the 
order of the struggle for life. He is 
distinguished from all other forms of 
life by these characters and achieve¬ 
ments. Of what are they the result? 
They are the result of character and 
will. They are the result of morale. 


94 


Sex Evolution 


The damage done to the physique by 
an abuse of sex is infinitesimal com¬ 
pared with the damage done to the char¬ 
acter—character is the very man him¬ 
self. Those who are endowed with the 
greatest human gifts of achievement 
are those who are often tempted most, 
who, when they fall, rarely recover 
from the calamity. 

Many people who are battling for the 
extermination of venereal disease, are 
inclined to discuss the matter only be¬ 
cause of the physical harm done by this 
dread malady. Moreover, many of 
them would have no objection to pro¬ 
miscuous indulgence could the physical 
calamities be abolished. Many people 
even descend to the argument of how 
frequently it is possible to indulge with¬ 
out physical weakness resulting. They 
generally arrive at the most absurd and 
false conclusions. How do we measure 
immorality? What is our standard? Is 
it physical pain resulting from an ac¬ 
tion? Not by any means. Many of the 
noblest of human works have had pain¬ 
ful physical consequences. The produc¬ 
tion of many a masterpiece of art, liter¬ 
ature or invention has cost its creator 
health, and in some cases, his life. 


Sex Evolution 


95 


The measure of immorality is the 
damage done to character. A man may 
suffer no physical disease whatever 
from some immoral act, but he destroys 
his character. He loses a great mission 
in his life. He pays the great price, the 
price that is greater than physical 
death. He may have attained to the 
highest realms in art or science. He 
may have fought courageously and 
fearlessly for his mission in life; but he 
falls, and even the genius of Ibsen has 
failed to express adequately the moral 
death he suffers. 

So let my parting words sink into 
each one of you. Never give in. Face 
bravely and fearlessly the temptations 
that will inevitably rise before you. It 
is bat a stage in the evolution of your 
life as it zms a stage in the evolution of 
the life of the great human race. Tri¬ 
umph and you will attain the heights of 
human achievement and become a man 
in the fullest and highest sense of its 
meaning. 




! HEALTH AND FITNESS 

\ By BERNARD BERNARD, . 

J (Editor of “Health and Life”) 

l It deals from A to Z with all the problems of 
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J Waste no more money on useless drugs and patent 
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| methods to recuperate your health and strength. 


What a Great Physician Says: 

“ ‘Health and Fitness’ is a practical, timely, and most 
interesting book. It teaches prevention of illness by 
following Nature’s laws. I wish for it a million cir¬ 
culation.”—SIMON LOUIS KATZOFF, M. D., Ph.D. 

Only $1.75 


Just read for yourself 

How the Body is Nourished. 

The Importance of the Body 
Muscles. 

Baldness. 

Deep Breathing: Exercises. 

How Women Can Cure Anaemia. 
Diet—What to Eat. 

Animal Flesh Considered. 

Correct Mastication. 

Indigestion. 

Blackheads. 

The Morning: Bath, a Grand 
Tonic. 

Clothing:. 

Night Wear. 

Developing Great Strength. 

The Teeth. 

A Remedy for Toothache. 

How to Preserve the Teeth. 
Internal Cleansing. 

The Hair. 


some of the headings: 

Correcting Internal Troubles by 
Breathing. 

Scurf and Dandruff. 

The Causes of Disease. 
Constipation. 

A Diet Scheme, With Sample 
Menus. 

Headaches. 

Skin Ailments. 

How the Body Keeps an Even 
Temperature. 

Acne. 

Perspiring Feet. 

Liver and Kidney Ailments. 
Rheumatic Troubles. 

Asthma. 

Obesity. 

Colds. 

Deformities. 

Etc., Etc. 


T FI REE DIFFERENT SETS OF EXERCISES ARE 
DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED. 

Send your check, money order, bill or stamps to the 
value of $1.75 for this great book now. You will 
treasure it as your bible of health and fitness, once 
you have read it. 


HEALTH AND LIFE 

| 333 South Dearborn Street 


PUBLICATIONS 

Chicago, Illinois 


l * , ®* , ®* , ®**®**®**®**§**®**®**® H ( 





A Book for Idealists by an Idealist 

The greatest necessity to ensure happiness in the 
married condition is to know its obligations and 
privileges, and to have a sound understanding of sex 
conduct. This great book gives this information and 
is absolutely reliable throughout. 

Dr. P. L. Clark, B.S., M.D., writing of this book says: 
“As regards sound principles and frank discussion I 
know no better book on this subject than Bernard Ber¬ 
nard’s ‘Sex Conduct in Marriage.’ I strongly advise 
all members of the Health School in need of reliable 
information to read this book.” 

“I feel grateful but cheated,” writes one man, “grate¬ 
ful for the new understanding and joy in living that has 
come to us, cheated that we have lived five years 
without it.” 

Sex Conduct in Marriage 

By BERNARD BERNARD 


Answers simply and directly, those intimate questions 
which Mr. Bernard has been called upon to answer in¬ 
numerable times before, both personally and by cor¬ 
respondence. It is a simple, straight-forward explana¬ 
tion, unclouded by ancient fetish or superstition. 

A few of the many headings are: 


When the Sex Function Should 
Be Used. 

Sex Tragedies in Childhood. 

The Consummation of Marriage. 
The Art of a Beautiful 
Conception. 

Sex Communion. 

The Scientific Control of 
Conception. 

Sex Fear Destroyed. 

The Frequency of the Sex Act. 


The Initiation to Matrimony. 
Anatomy and Physiology of 
the Sex Organs. 

The Spontaneous Expression of 
Love. 

Why Women Have Been 
Subjected. 

Men Who Marry in Ignorance. 
Hereditary Passion. 

Marriage a Joy to the End. 


Send your check or money order today for only $1.75 
and this remarkable book will be sent postpaid im¬ 
mediately in a plain wrapper. 


HEALTH AND LIFE PUBLICATIONS ; 

' 333 South Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois 

? 












iFREE ADVICE 


Bernard Bernard will be pleased to give his ad¬ 
vice free on your own personal trouble, providing 
you enclose 25 cents to cover cost of postage, sta¬ 
tionery, etc. 

Fill in the following form and state your case as 
fully, clearly and as briefly as possible. 


Name (Mr., Mrs. or Miss) 
Address ... 


Age. Occupation. 

Height__ Weight. 

Complaint .. 

Duration of Complaint. 

What exercise do you do?. 

What do you eat for breakfast?. 


On another piece of paper state tersely, but in detail, 
the peculiarities of your case. 

To Bernard Bernard 


» 






















20 cents monthly. 

The Only Physical Culture Magazine in the 
World Edited by An Active 
Champion Athlete 

A recent issue contained: 

MAKE MARRIAGE SAFE. A powerful article on 
birth control and venereal control by Ettie A. 
Rout of the New Zealand Volunteer Sisters. Miss 
Rout has received honors from all over the world 
for her great bravery in fighting single handed 
the venereal scourge. She is undoubtedly one of 
the most brilliant of modem women. 
THROWING THE DISCUS. By Dennis Carey, Ex- 
Champion and one of the greatest all-round 
athletes and trainers in the world. 

SIMPLE TRICKS OF SELF-DEFENSE. By Bernard 
Bernard. Some easy tricks by means of which 
you can overpower any assailant, no matter how 
strong or vicious he may be. 

EXERCISES FOR THE BUSY PERSON. By the 
Editor. Giving a complete series of exercises, 
illustrated, that are guaranteed to keep the 
sendentary worker fit. 

THE VARIOUS CULTS OF HEALING. By Dr. 
H. C. Engeldrum, D. 0. This article is of in- 
tens© interest 

JACKIE COOGAN’S HEALTH MAXIMS. Written 
by himself. The great little film star shows that 
he has an enormous understanding of the im¬ 
portant things in life. 

LEADING ATHLETIC STARS. An article featur¬ 
ing the foremost athletic heroes of the day. 
HER GREAT ENEMY. Dramatic serial story. 

Numerous other articles and notes on Health, Ath¬ 
letics, Psychology and Social Problems. Fully illus¬ 
trated. 

Order your copy now to make sure of it, or have 
the magazine sent to you for six months by sending 
a $1 bill to 

HEALTH AND LIFE PUBLICATIONS 

333 S. Dearborn Street - - CHICAGO 





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HEALTH and LIFE 
FELLOWSHIP 

A Band of Men and Women 
United in Their Love of the Healthy, 
the Strong and the Beautiful 


President, The Editor of Heath and Life: 


We want all those who believe in the work which 
Health and Life is doing to inspire a love for the 
healthy, the strong and the beautiful, to join the 
Health and Life Fellowship. 

Thousands of men and women now in the slough 
of despond need our help to show them the way to 
health and happiness, and by joining hands we shall 
become a great force for our cause. 

Many of us are now working single-handed for 
the same movement; many of us with similar ideas 
and ideals would like to be brought together. It is 
the aim of the Fellowship to do this. 

By becoming a member you make a pledge to keep 
your body healthy, strong and beautiful. This in 
itself is a great help to you personally to follow out 
the rules which mean everything in life to you. 

Fill in your coupon now and send it in. 


HEALTH AND LIFE FELLOWSHIP 
To the Secretary: 

I wish to join the Health and Life Fellowship. I promise 
to do my best to keep my body healthy, strong and beau¬ 
tiful. Enclosed is my fee of $1.00. 

Name . 

Address . 


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